Imtech Marine’s Advanced Support Agreements, which include 24/7 remote Monitoring & Maintenance, are raising interest among ship owners.  Recently, Seaway Heavy Lifting (SHL) signed a support contract for a second crane vessel. The Imtech Marine support agreement covers all of the systems onboard, including VSAT, computers, navigation and communication equipment.

Photo: Main mast of the Oleg Strashnov as seen from the helideck, with VSAT Dome .

The maritime transport and offshore construction services company has been a customer of Imtech Marine and Radio Holland for many years and in December 2011, SHL decided to place its crane vessel “Oleg Strashnov” under an Advanced Support Agreement. And just a few months later in April 2012, the company has decided to do the same for a second crane vessel, the “Stanislav Yudin”.

Peter Dekkers, Technical Superintendent at SHL, says: “After experiencing the benefits of Imtech Marine’s Advanced Support Agreements for several months on the Oleg Strashnov, we didn’t hesitate to place the Stanislav Yudin under the same arrangement.”

Remote maintenance

Frank Berends, Radio Holland Manager Technical Helpdesk, comments: “We are very happy that SHL has been completely satisfied with our support service and has chosen this for another vessel. We understand that it is vital that these very complex vessels should have the least downtime possible.”

“It is crucial for us to be able to do things remotely,” Mr Dekkers points out. He gives the example that Oleg Strashnov has recently been working in the Indian Ocean and it can take six weeks to get a permit for a service engineer to get onboard if there is a problem. “When the vessel went offshore, the crew discovered there were certain issues with the telephone system but Imtech Marine was able to carry out a remote repair, ensuring that we had the telephone lines in all of the right positions on the ship and that all the connections were there for ingoing and outgoing calls. But imagine if this had happened and we had to wait for an engineer to get a permit!

It is very important that we avoid any vessel downtime – even for a few hours. Imtech Marine helps ensure that our vessels are available, doing their job 24/7 for our customers.”

24/7 global support

Imtech Marine has three dedicated Global Technical Assistance Centres in Rotterdam, Houston and Singapore, enabling it to give clients round the clock support. “By monitoring the systems 24 hours a day we can see if there is trouble with the Internet for instance, and restore connections before the crew even notices,” emphasises Mr Berends. “Basically no one can beat our response times. We are able to tackle the issues in real time, while the vessel is sailing.”

Preventive maintenance

In another example, Imtech Marine can spot any rises in equipment temperatures. “When a working temperature is between 40-50 degrees Celsius, we can take action if we see it getting higher, thus preventing any problems before the equipment starts to fail. By monitoring, we can carry out preventive maintenance and avert mass failure of equipment or we can advise the crew to take action if we cannot repair it remotely. Then Imtech Marine can get the right spare parts and an engineer ready for the next port of call.”

Unrivalled response times

Jack-Up Barge is another company that has seen the benefits of such an Advanced Support Agreement. In a three-year agreement, signed in January, this contract also includes system management. “These barges are often working on offshore wind farms for many months so it is crucial that any problems can be sorted out remotely. But we also manage the company’s systems. For instance when there are crew changes and a new crew is boarding everything is set up ready for them, emails etc. so they don’t have to worry about changing all of the systems themselves.”

Mr Berends adds: “We know that it is vital for any downtime to be avoided and ultimately, these agreements help ensure the availability of the vessel, in turn lowering the Total Cost of Ownership.”

Leading U.S. offshore marine support vessel operator SEACOR Marine LLC. (SEACOR Marine), located in Houma, Louisiana, has chosen Kongsberg Maritime to supply sophisticated Dynamic Positioning systems for two new 190-foot CrewZer Class Crew boats (also known as Fast supply vessels). SEACOR Lynx and SEACOR Leopard are under construction at Gulfcraft Shipyard, located in Franklin, Louisiana, and are scheduled for delivery in the first half of 2013. The SEACOR Lynx and SEACOR Leopard will be the first Crew boats to operate using an ABS Class DP3 system, affording them the highest degree of manoeuvring safety available today.

The SEACOR Lynx and SEACOR Leopard will be the first Crew boats to operate using an ABS Class DP3 system, affording them the highest degree of maneuvering safety available today

As a pioneer in DP Crew boat design, SEACOR Marine is keen to ensure that its latest generation of CrewZer Class vessels meet the highest possible safety standards.

ABS Class DP3 allows for significant DP operational safety including full protection of the system in case of fire and flooding. Kongsberg Maritime Inc., located in Houston, Texas, will install the pinnacle in DP system technology aboard the new vessels, in the form of a triple redundant KONGSBERG K-Pos DP3 system integrated with proprietary position reference and environmental sensor systems.

"Dynamic Positioning offers significant station keeping improvements compared to manual control," explains Joe McCall, Project Manager, SEACOR Marine. "In order for a DP system to be effective, it has to be completely reliable in even the most extreme weather conditions, so we are enthusiastic about the installation of KONGSBERG DP3 aboard our new CrewZer class vessels. The system is designed to offer the highest redundancy and reliability which allows for safer transfers of cargo and personnel."

"SEACOR Marine is at the forefront of DP Crew boat design and operation having built the world's first ever DP Crew boat, the first DP1 and DP2 Crew boats, the world's largest DP Crew boats and now the first DP3 Crew boat," adds Ted Murphy Senior Sales Manager, Kongsberg Maritime Inc. "We have supplied KONGSBERG DP systems for all of these industry first vessels so are delighted to continue our close working relationship with SEACOR Marine on the next generation of the ground-breaking CrewZer Class vessels."

The CrewZer Class features a twin-hull design that enables speeds of 46-knots, which is more than twice that of conventional Crew boats. CrewZer Crew boats feature safety focused design, based on utilising the most advanced technology available, such as an innovative "FROG" personnel transfer system and the latest DP3 system from Kongsberg Maritime. The DP3 rating of SEACOR Lynx and SEACOR Leopard combined with a wide, stable work deck, increases conventional operating windows even further than the previous generation CrewZer Class vessels, allowing the vessel to hold station in weather conditions where other vessels simply could not work.

"The KONGSBERG DP system for Crew boats is superior to any other system on the market today and the reliability and global support of the equipment in service is well proven," concludes McCall.

Fairstar Heavy Transport N.V. (FAIR) has been awarded a contract by Saipem S.p.A. to provide float-over and installation services to Saipem for the 8,000 tonnes CMMP Platform in the Persian Gulf, off-shore Iraq. Saipem has contracted the new 50,000DWT semi-submersible vessel FINESSE for the transportation of the CMMP module from the fabrication facility in Karimun, Indonesia in the second half of 2013.

Philip Adkins, Chief Executive Officer of Fairstar commented on the new Saipem contract and provided a fleet update: “The Saipem contract to install the CMMP Platform in the Persian Gulf is another example of Fairstar’s competitive dominance at the high value segment of the marine heavy transport industry. A float-over operation of this magnitude requires significant engineering skills and a broad range of project management experience. Fairstar has already established itself as the leading provider of module transportation for major LNG projects. Gorgon and Ichthys validated our on-shore dominance. Golden Eagle and the CMMP float-over show an equal facility to deliver safe and reliable transportation of high-value off-shore assets to our EPC clients.

The FJORD is now “on contract” for Gorgon and is expected to load the first modules for transport to Barrow Island in May. The FJELL has safely loaded two power generating barges in Bonny, Nigeria and will sail to Escravos, Nigeria tomorrow. Once the power generating barges have been discharged near the Chevron EGTL facility, the FJELL mobilize towards Asia and undergo preparations for Gorgon.”

Fairmount Marine’s tug Fairmount Sherpa has towed the rig ODN Tay IV from Las Palmas towards allocation offshore Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

For this job Fairmount Marine was contracted by Odebrecht Oil and Gas for the third time in a row. ODN Tay IV is a semi submersible drilling rig for deep water operations owned by Odebrecht Oil & Gas, part of leading Brazilian multinational Odebrecht SA.

The rig has undergone an upgrading at a shipyard at Las Palmas, Canary Islands. For her next assignment for Brazilian oil company Petrobras the ODN Tay IV had to be towed to Brazil. Tug Fairmount Sherpa towed the ODN Tay IV over a distance of 3,800 miles from Las Palmas to a location offshore Rio de Janeiro. The towage took just 30 days by an average speed of 5.2 knots.

Upon arrival Fairmount Sherpa was requested to stay connected to ODN Tay IV to perform heading control duties during the inward clearance of the rig and preparations prior departure to the field.

The contract calls for 230 working days in total for both vessels in a period ranging from May to September 2012. It also bears options for additional services and for an extended period. The project will be managed by Technocean, one of Reef Subsea's Norwegian companies.

Reef Despina and Reef Larissa, which were chartered last November from Neptune Offshore AS for five years, have just been through an enhancing program at A&P Tyne in Newcastle to better address the Oil & Gas and Renewable Energy client’s needs.

The enhancement program has included an increase in the total accommodation numbers from 60 to 75 persons, installation of a dedicated deck of power supplies for project equipment on the aft working deck and an additional HiPaP 501 referencing and positioning system. Further work has included the replacement of the existing wet exhaust system with a new dry exhaust system. The project was completed with the mobilization of two Work Class ROVs on each vessel (XLX, XLS or XLR systems) in the purpose-built ROV hangar, the installation of a survey suite and state-of-the-art information and communications network on board.

The vessels have just successfully completed sea trials, and initial reports from the trials and transit have confirmed that the vessels have performed extremely well, with excellent dynamic positioning capability and very good ship motions in heavy seas.

Chief Operating Officer of Reef Subsea, Tim Sheehan, said: “This contract is a significant milestone for the Reef Subsea Group and sees the operational deployment of our latest two new-build vessels into the market. We look forward to working with Talisman Energy (UK) Ltd to successfully meet the objectives of the Project and further fulfill additional projects for the Company. We expect the vessels provide operators, top-tier contractors and engineering houses with flexible, competitive and environmentally friendly light subsea construction & survey vessels. Despina and Larissa have been designed for worldwide operations, and we expect their X-bow shape to become familiar to projects under all latitudes.”

Reef Subsea Chief Executive Officer, Mark Preece, said: “This contract, coupled with the favorable reception we get from our clients and prospects with the positive upturn in the Oil & Gas industries, confirms we made a good move when chartering the vessels for five years. Our strategy is to be recognized as a reliable contractor in key specialized areas of subsea services providing excellent service to our clients. We are delighted to get confidence from Talisman for the first assignment of the sister ships together."

Both the Reef Despina and Reef Larissa are 98.6 meters in length and have transit speeds of up to 13.9 knots, weather dependent. They both feature larges areas for online and offline rooms and have accommodation for up to 75 persons. The vessels feature anti-heeling systems and 150 t (AHC) offshore cranes for the handling of subsea equipment over the ship side or through the moonpool, with dismountable sections in bulwark both on the starboard side and after end. The vessels have 844 square meters of usable deck area and 160 square metres of available sheltered area. Each features a hangar with integrated LARS for the deployment of two work class ROVs on the port and starboard sides. Each vessel also has a moonpool of 7.2 metres squared for installation of equipment into the seabed, and module handling towers.

Reef Subsea AS is an international group providing cost-effective integrated subsea services to the oil and gas and renewables industries. Its specialised subsidiaries - Technocean, Reef Subsea Power & Umbilical, Specialist Subsea Services and Scanmudring-Rotech Subsea - provide operators and contractors with highly experienced personnel, key subsea technologies and construction support vessels. Reef Subsea serves its clients in the deepwater or demanding environments of the North Sea, Americas, Middle-East and South-East Asia areas. Reef Subsea is a 50/50 owned company of GC Rieber Shipping and HitecVision.

Fairmount Marine’s tug Fairmount Expedition has delivered the semi-submersible drilling rig Scarabeo 6 safely in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, for her dry-dock period at shipyard Keppel-Verolme.

The 27 year old Scarabeo 6, owned by Italian offshore company Saipem, was towed from offshore Abu Qir, Egypt, towards Rotterdam over a distance of 3,290 miles. The tow was executed by Fairmount Expedition together with tug Normand Neptun at an average speed of 5.7 knots.

A bunker stop was made in Algaciras, Spain. For this job Fairmount Expedition was contracted by EDT Offshore Egypt. Fairmount Marine is a marine contractor for ocean towage and heavy lift transportation, headquartered in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Fairmount’s fleet of tugs consists of five modern super tugs of 205 tons bollard pull each, especially designed for long distance towing, and a multipurpose support vessel. Fairmount Marine is part of Louis Dreyfus Armateurs Group. 

The Norwegian-owned offshore accommodation vessel, Edda Fides, one of the most  advanced and sophisticated vessels of its type in the world,  has been dry-docked at Gibdock in Gibraltar for a week-long package of work at the yard.  

The ‘floatel’, owned by Østensjø Rederi, arrived at Gibdock on April 2^nd and was docked the following day. The main scope of work involved disconnecting and lowering the starboard aft Voith Thruster and renewing the main thruster seal.

Edda Fides has a unique monohull form to enable the positioning of the accommodation forward and the Voith thrusters to the stern. The design is reckoned to achieve a 20% reduction in fuel and emissions compared with previous vessels of this type. Docking required Gibdock to set up a special block arrangement to accommodate the vessel.

Gibdock Production Director, John Taylor says: “This was a project with a very tight time deadline and replacing the thruster seal involved our own fitters and Voith Schneider technicians working together round the clock and throughout the Easter break. The project also required the deployment of Gibdock welders and steel workers to fabricate and install steel support guides onto the hull to lower the thruster unit safely from the vessel.” All the required lifting equipment was supplied by the yard.

Built by the HJ Barreras shipyard in Vigo and delivered in 2011 at an estimated cost of €150 million, the 130m long, 7,500dwt Edda Fides has accommodation for 600 persons onboard and features some groundbreaking technology intended to revolutionise the offshore accommodation sector. This includes a DP3 positioning system combined with Voith Schneider propellers, and a heave compensated gangway.

The floatel offers 177 cabins with a comfort class equivalent to cruise ships and is marketed by Edda Accommodation, a division of the Østensjø group, and has been deployed in the North Sea region as well as offshore eastern Spain.

Other work required during docking included comprehensive hull washing, the removal and refitting of 69 sea chest grids for cleaning and painting and the installation of 500m of cabling in the area around the engine room, emergency generators and main engine fans.

Gibdock also carried out a load test on the ship’s crane, installed stainless steel bypass lines for the sanitation supply system, flushing lines for the food waste disposal system, and various items of galley equipment. In addition the yard surveyed the lifeboats and davits onboard to ensure compliance with safety standards. The work was completed on schedule.

“In general we still see growth in the cruise and offshore sectors, with new opportunities for Gibdock in fabrication and rigs to add to our existing repair and conversion work,” said Richard Beards, Gibdock Commercial Director.

“Edda Fides is a high quality, top end vessel, and Østensjø elected to come to a high quality yard. This is further evidence of the confidence that offshore vessel owners have in Gibdock.”

Fairmount Marine’s tug Fairmount Glacier has successfully assisted in the refloating of Greek owned bulk carrier Akiba which was grounded offshore Maputo, Mozambique. The salvage operation was conducted by Greek salvage company Five Oceans Salvage under a Lloyd’s Open Form. When contracted the Fairmount Glacier was mobilized from Cape Town, South Africa. Upon arrival offshore Maputo the salvage plan was discussed between the masters of Fairmount Glacier and Akiba, together with the salvage master. 

At a second attempt the Fairmount Glacier refloated the 190 meter long Akiba where after the bulk carrier was towed to an assigned safe anchor position where the damage to the Akiba was determined. Later the Fairmount Glacier was asked to tow the Akiba toward Richards Bay, South Africa. Upon arrival in Richards Bay, Akiba’s cargo was discharged and during this operation Fairmount Glacier remained stand-by. After discharge operations had been completed Fairmount Glacier towed Akiba onward to Durban, where she went into dry-dock. 

Fairmount Glacier remained on stand-by in Durban during the dry-dock operation of the Akiba, after which Fairmount Glacier was relieved from her duties and commenced mobilisation towards her next assignment. Fairmount Marine is a marine contractor for ocean towage and heavy lift transportation, headquartered in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Fairmount’s fleet of tugs consists of five modern super tugs of 205 tons bollard pull each, especially designed for long distance towing, and a multipurpose support vessel.

As part of a one-year project to provide mooring and positioning support operations for Shell do

Brasil, InterMoor do Brasil Ltda (InterMoor), an Acteon company, has recently beaten the depth

record for conventional mooring offshore Brazil with a water depth of 2027 m.

The project is for the mobile offshore drilling unit (MODU) Noble Clyde Boudreaux and will run

until the middle of 2012. Operations focus on the Campos and Santos basins, but could be in

any location off Brazil’s southeast coast in water depths ranging from 600 to 2300 m.

Andre Oliveira, project manager, InterMoor said, “We are committed to delivering safe, efficient

and cost-effective mooring operations in support of this drilling campaign. There are

challenges, so we have worked with Shell to plan everything in minute detail. This planning is

essential if we are to continually break new boundaries such as the previous water depth

record for conventional mooring offshore Brazil at 2015 m. (well depth) and two of the eight

anchors moored at 2027 m.”

The contract covers the provision of engineering mooring analysis reports and conventional

mooring. InterMoor designs mooring patterns for the Noble Clyde Boudreaux at every drilling

rig location. This involves a mix of open-water exploration work and mooring around subsea

assets.

InterMoor assisted Shell in defining the anchor-handling vessel specifications for the

programme based on the final mooring system design and supplies mooring coordinators,

engineers and survey personnel on the rig and anchor-handling vessels to supervise and direct

mooring system deployment, retrieval and connection to the rig. Because of the water depths

and the high loads, the anchor-handling vessels are high power with bollard pulls of 265 Mt and

are fitted with 3000-m work wires. The planning also considered the availability of mooring

element spares as a critical measure to prevent unexpected major delays to operations.

InterMoor also participates in planning workshops and advises Shell and Noble staff on

mooring optimisation.

Siebe Viersen, senior drilling supervisor, Shell Brasil Ltda said, “We would like to recognize

InterMoor for their excellent performance during the NCB rig moves while on contract with

Shell. The anchor handling operations were well managed and executed without any HSE

related incident and well within the time allocated for the activity.”

As part of the efforts to continuously improve operations, InterMoor delivers after-action reviews

on completion of each job. The company also maintains and repairs Shell-procured preinstalled

mooring systems when necessary, and advises Shell on component replacement.

Under the terms of the contract, InterMoor performs and coordinates inspection of mooring

components as necessary during the drilling programme in accordance with the requirements

of the API RP 2I recommended practice.

“The contract, which was won in 2006 for the Arctic 1 MODU and varied in 2011 for the Noble

Clyde Boudreaux, significantly underlines InterMoor’s strong presence and rapid growth in

Brazil. We have recently acquired a dockside area facility at Port of Açu in the northern part of

Rio de Janeiro state. This will enable us to improve the logistics of future mooring and

installation projects further. The expansion reflects the efficiency of our service and the high

standards to which we work. These are crucial factors in earning and maintaining a positive

reputation with our clients,” Oliveira concludes.

Recently Imtech Marine, specialized in system integration, successfully completed three innovative new-build vessel projects in Singapore; Seven Borealis for Subsea 7, Rockpiper for a subsidiary of Royal Boskalis Westminster NV and Flintstone for Tideway, part of the DEME Group. The ships will all operate in the oil and gas market. Imtech Marine has combined specific capabilities of its offices in Rotterdam, Shanghai and Singapore. The supply package for two of the three ships includes advanced dynamic positioning (DP), diesel electric propulsion, vessel management (VMS), automation, navigation and communication. The design and engineering was done in Rotterdam, production in Shanghai and installation & commissioning by the Imtech Marine team in Singapore. 

Tideway's Flintstone

‘We were able to guarantee the  specific competences in our worldwide network in the most efficient way’, explains Eric van den Adel, Managing Director of Imtech Marine. ‘Imtech Marine has the in-house expertise to integrate technical systems on board and to anticipate the complex balance of engines, DP-system and thrusters. This, combined with our globally coordinated operation, makes us a strategic partner for our clients. A partner who offers services and solutions throughout the entire life cycle of a ship, both during construction and throughout the operational phase through service and maintenance.’

Seven Borealis
Seven Borealis is a DP pipe laying and heavy lift (5,000-ton) construction vessel, built for Subsea 7 at the Sembawang Shipyard in Singapore. The ship is designed to work in very deep water. The advanced DP3, delivered and integrated by Imtech Marine, allows the ship to manoeuvre precisely in all weather conditions. During lifting operation the DP makes it possible, without the need of anchorage, to place components for oil and gas extraction on offshore constructions: both at the surface and up to 6,000 metres depth. During the new build of the heavy lift construction vessel the need to extend the functionality of the Seven Borealis was identified. S-lay as well as J-lay pipe laying systems and provisions for future flexible pipe laying installations needed to be added. Imtech Marine worked closely together with Subsea 7 and Sembawang to manage implementation of this functional extension. Imtech Marine also provided the energy-distribution and the diesel electric propulsion. Standardised motor control centres were designed to reduce life cycle costs. Additionally, Imtech Marine delivered and integrated navigation and communication systems, together with the VMS, into the navigation bridge consoles for transit operations, and working bridge consoles to support heavy lift and pipe laying operations.

Rockpiper
Rockpiper is an innovative fall pipe rock dumping vessel of Royal Boskalis Westminster. Imtech Marine integrated the electro-technical and automation systems and made the functional descriptions for the VMS and propulsion system on this Rockpiper. Imtech Marine in the Netherlands reviewed the functional design and engineering, Imtech Marine Shanghai built the low voltage and emergency switchboards and Imtech Marine Singapore carried out the installation supervision and commissioning. Imtech Marine prepared Rockpiper’s high-voltage board with the possible addition of a fourth diesel generator and an extra thruster for future extensions. The Rockpiper was built at the Keppel Singmarine Yard in Singapore.

Flintstone
The Flintstone is the largest fall pipe rock dumping vessel of Tideway, part of the DEME Group and was built at the Sembawang Shipyard. DEME was looking for a strategic partner who could also provide service during operations. The work for Imtech Marine started with the assignment for the main power equipment and gradually expanded. Imtech Marine was asked to draw up the specifications for the power management system, the LV and HV power distribution and the systems for navigation and DP, as well as to supply and integrate those systems. Imtech Marine carried out the project management and did the commissioning support at the shipyard in Singapore. At the moment the ship is at Huisman-Itrec in Schiedam to finalise the stone dumping system and for extensions to the DP-system, the bridge installation and the network.

The Flintstone is built completely in line with the ‘Lloyds Environmental Protection Code’, for example realizing a minimal emission of nitrogen oxide.  The energy generated as a result of the lowering of the fall pipe is returned to the ship’s electricity net, installed by Imtech Marine. Imtech also installed the diesel electric propulsion system. Tideway can deploy the Flintstone in the Arctic Ocean thanks to its ice notification. The ship, with its fall pipe of 2,000 metres, can also be put to use in the deeper oil fields of Brazil, West Africa and the Gulf of Mexico. This is in line with the need for deep-sea mining activities, in order to meet the demands for energy in the future.